Nasarawa state governor, Engr Abdullahi Sule, has called on Fulani youths in the state to shun crimes such as kidnapping and armed robbery, which is fast giving the Fulani a bad name.
Sule made the call while hosting a delegation of the state chapter of the Fulani All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth Forum, who were on a courtesy call to the Government House, Lafia, Nasarawa state capital Wednesday.
He also urged the Fulani youths to embrace western education, which he said would discourage the youths from committing crimes.
Last week a notorious kidnapper, Buju Bazamfare, surrendered alongside his men to the state, after which the governor expressed concern that majority of the kidnappers were Fulani.
“That explained why we brought together prominent Ardos and Fulani leaders from across the country to join in the meeting and talk to them to desist from committing crimes, which has gone a long way in giving a bad image for the Fulani,” Sule said.
He said the state was ready to participate in the federal government’s National Livestock Transformation Programme (NLTP), with the pilot project expected to commence in Doma, Nasarawa and Wamba, out of the seven locations originally earmarked for the programme.
The governor said his administration was willing to give facelift to primary schools in a bid to lay a solid foundation for children in the state.
One of such interventions, he said, was as a result of complaints he received about a primary school mostly for the Fulani in Kurmin Tagwaye, for which renovation work is expected to commence next week.
“I have already sent officials to carry out assessment of the school. I promised to renovate the school even with my personal funds, in case no funds are forthcoming from government. I want to do that in order to have a particular school for the Fulani.”
The governor thanked members of the forum for their role in the victory of the APC during the 2019 governorship election.
He assured them that members of the group would be considered for political appointments, stressing that as an all-inclusive government, his administration would carry everybody along.
Earlier in an opening remark, leader of the delegation, Jibrin Shuaibu, said as indigenous people, they had always contributed their quota to the growth of democracy in the state.
Shuaibu, however, said that no single Fulani had been offered political appointment in the state.
He equally made case for Fulani youths to be given scholarships and also called on the government to vaccinate their animals.
